Living A Healthy Lifestyle

Every one of us, at one point or another in our lives, stops to reflect on our lifestyle choices. We ask ourselves questions like – how healthy am I? Do I exercise enough? Should I be sleeping more or less?

It’s no secret that all of us could probably make a few changes to improve our lives and general wellbeing; not just by eating extra vegetables and working out a little bit more, or even cutting out the alcohol, quitting smoking and having a rigid sleeping pattern.

Instead, we should aim for a balanced mix of three vital ingredients – a nutritious diet, solid training regime and positive mental health.

Here at Antiaging Nutrition, we have put together our selection of top tips so that you can lead a much healthier, happier life.

Exercise

First up, yep you guessed it, exercise.

Working out is a great way to set you on your path to a better lifestyle.

Aside from the self-image benefits associated with exercise: weight loss and muscle tone; it also helps your body to properly regulate metabolism, keep your vital organs in tip-top condition and has even been proved by mental health professionals to increase serotonin levels in the brain, which leads to a much clearer, Zen-like outlook on life.

Join A Gym

Your friends and family are doing it, so why not you too? On top of state-of-the-art equipment and new fitness techniques, gyms also house a great social atmosphere that will give you the motivation you need to kick-start your new healthy mantra.

Who said getting fit had to be a solitary task?

Join Classes

If the thought of sticking to a few machines for extended periods of time doesn’t particularly appeal to you, head to your local leisure centre or speak to one of the many personal trainers dotted around your local gym about the workout classes they currently offer.

Whether it’s a 45 minute Zumba session, boxercise or circuit training, one thing’s for certain: It won’t feel like any old linear training routine. You’ll be side-by-side with other like-minded people looking to get fit too. With inspirational, pumping music and a motivational instructor you’ll see the benefits in no time and keep heading back for more.

Take Up A Sport

Remember when you were a kid; sports seemed to be everywhere: Little League, basketball, football – the choices were endless. In adult life it’s a little trickier to find a sport that suits you.

To get you started, try calling up a few friends to get a pick-up game going. Failing that, head on down to your local leisure centre and check out the clubs board to see what weekly activities they have on the go. There might be a game of racquetball, basketball or some obscure sport you might not have heard of. Whatever the case it’s exercise and it will definitely be fun!

Get Outdoors

If training indoors or playing a sport doesn’t tickle your fancy, head outdoors.

Going for an evening jog in the local park, or a nearby beach of you’re lucky enough, hiking, cycling, or rowing are all great options to help build up your fitness.

Travelling To Work

Tired of sitting in traffic or being squished and squashed on that bus on the way to work? If you live close enough, consider walking or cycling instead. Not only will you get to work on time, you’ll also squeeze in the day’s workout too. Who doesn’t like to kill two birds with one stone?

Balanced Dieting

You know the drill – a balanced diet means that you’re going to need to be a lot more vigilant when you’re out shopping at the supermarket and when it comes to preparing your meals. This doesn’t mean you have to eat nothing but fruit, salad and vegetables; it’s nice to treat ourselves to the occasional burger or slice of pizza every once in a while!

That said, no matter how much exercise you do on a weekly basis, it’s never going to be beneficial if you don’t embrace a balanced diet at home.

Eating Habits

At one point or another, we’ve all had a bad eating habit or two: overeating at certain points of the day, unnecessarily snacking or consuming way too much sugar than we probably should.

Here are a few do’s and don’ts to consider:

Do

Eat more salad, fruit and vegetables

Eat naturally bright coloured foods

Cut down on red meat intake

Cook more white meats and fish

Drink more water, at least eight glasses each day

Don’t

Eat after 6:30pm

Emotionally eat, there are other alternatives to cope with stress

Consume foods with high carbohydrate or sugar content – remember to keep it balanced

At Antiaging Nutrition we stock a wide variety of vitamins and nutritional supplements to help you achieve a better, healthier you. Visit our online store to find out more.

Mental Health

While pursuing better eating habits and becoming more active are vital steps to attaining a healthy lifestyle, it is also important to not overlook the significance of your mental health.

Mental health plays a huge part at all stages of life. Here are a few tips to help clear your mind, relieve stress and smile more.

Keep A Journal

Jotting down and keeping a record of the day-to-day pressures that might be getting to you is a great way to manage stress. Rather than keeping numerous thoughts whizzing around, a million miles per hour in your mind, leave them in the safety of a diary. You can then come back to them at a later date and add in how you feel about them now. What did you do to resolve the situation?

Reflect

Every now and then, take some time to reflect on your life, the decisions you make and the people you associate yourself with. Ask yourself, is my current situation making me happy? If I was looking from the outside at another person’s life with similar problems to me, what would I change?

Be Social

With a 9-5, Monday to Friday job it’s easy to fall into the routine of watching television and doing, well, nothing. At least one night a week, catch up with friends, visit family or go somewhere completely new to you. Get out of your comfort zone! Remember we work to live, not live to work!

That’s it for our selection of tips to live a healthier lifestyle, if you have anything you would like to share, please feel free to leave us a note in the comments section below.